Architectures Volume 1 DVD

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Architectures presents a privileged and unprecedented look at the work of superstar architects and some of their most brilliant creations.

Architectures is devised by Richard Copans and Stan Neumann. Co-produced by the European public television channel ARTE France, Les Films d'Ici; Centre Pompidou; Ministère de la Culture; Direction de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine; Musée d'Orsay; and Fondation Sasakawa, this series of 5 DVDs looks at architecture and its historical and social functions to reveal its meaning and impact on humanity.

Architectures 1 (1995-2000) presents six twenty-six minute films focussing on important works by major architects:

The Dessau Bauhaus by Walter Gropius,Walter Gropius' main achievement is the buildings of the Bauhaus, built in 1926. His pioneering architecture saw the birth of one of the most innovative schools of art of the 20th century. A film by Frédéric Compain.

The Siza School,The Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza built Porto's Faculty of Architecture, a mediation on space and light in a futuristic ""agora"". Alvaro was once a student and still teaches there today. A film by Richard Copans and Stan Neumann.

Family Lodgings in Guise, a radiant 19th century housing project,Inspired by the communes of Charles Fourier, the industrialist André Godin created palatial style communal living spaces for his workers. A film by Catherine Adda.

Nemausus 1,In Nîmes, Jean Nouvel conceived a block of tenement houses reminiscent of a cruise liner. An architectural utopia that pokes fun at the truisms of council housing. A film by Richard Copans and Stan Neumann.

The Georges Pompidou Centre,A giant meccano-like structure designed by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, a museum-factory that has become one of the most notable landmarks of the historical Parisian architectural landscape. A film by Richard Copans.

The Vienna Savings Bank,At the turn of the last century, Otto Wagner designed one of the first 20th century modern office buildings, representing a radical break with the previous tradition in bank-architecture. A film by Stan Neumann.